all my animals are gone!

[LeviD1]

Sooooo. I just checked my cams. I have 1 spike buck in the last two weeks and a couple does and fawns that all! That was the last 2 weeks. The previous 2 years I have had this happen also. Mid august comes and everything decent dissapears. This year come mid - late july I started putting out alfalfa to see if it was lack of good food source since my meadow grass burns out about mid august. Well 3 weeks ago I had a 7x7 and 6x6 bull chowing down for 2 weeks and multiple bucks and does. I dont understand what happends. There is water about 400 yards away and tons of cover. I just cant figure it out!

[cowboycraig]

Maybe they know season is coming.

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

[lokidog]

Is there someone nearby that comes around about this time of year, every year?  Maybe something somewhere else in their habitat is being dinked around with and you are just collateral damage?

[Duckslayer89]

Well hopefully my spot is one of those spots they go to because I haven't hardly got any pics this summer which is unusual

[oldleclercrd]

The bucks shrink their area down to just their core area. Your obviously on the outskirts of their home.

[jasnt]

This time of year all my good bucks all but disappear. Some times won't see them from august to end of September but they always come back. Seems like they go awall till they are good and hard horned then right back at it

[BULLBLASTER]

Lots of mature bucks disappear from my sets late August or early sept. A lot of times big ones will return end of sept for a week or so the gone again till rut.
It's the season.   

[Bango skank]

Different home ranges during different times of the season.  Those elk could be damn near anywhere, but the missing bucks are within a few mile radius (if theyre whitetails, i cant speak for muleys).  Time to start expanding your scouting / trail cam coverage to likely looking spots nearby if youre trying to arrow one in september.  Theyre around somewhere.

[huntnnw]

Biggest whitetails I've hunted all had very small areas in which they lived . 3 that I have killed lived in a 300/400 yard oval area the whole summer and early fall. If your not close to their home this time of year they can do exactly what you have explained . 2 big bucks I'm watching now litterally live in and bed somewhere in 100-200 yard chunk of timber everyday barely ever breaking off that pattern ever.

[LeviD1]

Thanks for the comments guys. Gues ill hopefully maybe see a nice buck while looking for elk. I just have been really trying and hoping to keep some bucks around because my wife is unable to take the ridiculous amount of time off I am able to for hunting and really want her to get a deer this year. This will be her 3rd year and I'm thinking this year is the year! Granted I hunt in any deer areas and we always see does. But she says does have feelings and bucks just want to do the nasty all day soshe refuses to shoot a doe. 

[Mark251]

I think your wife may be right    If the does are there, a buck is probably not too far away - at least he won't be for long.